


And the Stars Make Love to the Universe

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Caine Wise has a Past, Caine Wise is a good lycantant, Character Development, Character Study, Eventual Caine/Jupiter, F/M, Gen, Pup Watcher, She just has to be born first, Space Royalty, There is totally a Reason why Balem sounds like a Batman reject, dammit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-07-14 01:40:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7146938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caine Wise knows the euphoria of flying; knows the crushing defeat that is falling. </p><p>What he does not understand is how Her Majesty (Jupiter, as she insists) looks at him like he carries the stars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Star-cracked Marrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A character study of Caine Wise, really. I got sucked back into JA (though I never really left orbit, tbh) recently and figured what the hell, why not? 
> 
> Also, this thing is ridiculous and eating my life. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

There is a story, an... outdated notion amongst splices, all splices regardless of form or function, that the love of True Royalty would change them. 

Caine is told of it because he is the runt and the household capreolinae splices take pity on him. 

The Sargorn, Merak, who tells it to him does not pity him. She lays it out slowly because Caine is _smart_ despite his size and willing to listen. 

"I know the Capreolinae told you the barest bones." Caine nods in agreement, all of seven summers old. "Royalty is not just to be of the House of Abraxas or an Entitled." 

"It isn't?" 

Merak chuckles, scooping Caine up with ease despite her mangled wing. "No, pup, it is not. To be True Royalty is to inspire loyalty without fear, to equally love all being in spite of thier status and to reject power if it is handed to them on a platter." She pauses and murmurs to him, "No currently living member of the House of Abrasax embodies these traits. Seraphi is... close but lacks the second." 

"Is love hard?" Caine pipes up and the Sargorn's breath hitches. 

"No. It is easy, little lycantant, to fall in love. The problem comes when they do not return your affections. That is why it is labeled dangerous and hurtful for all. We feel it deeply, down to our star-cracked marrow and nebula-laced blood." Her response is low, her rumble deepening the meaning behind the words. 

"Oh." And because Caine is wise beyond his summers, he says, "The one who hurt you did not deserve you." 

Merak's mirth washes through Caine's senses. "Seraphi of the House of Abraxas did not deserve my love?" 

He thinks for only a moment and hums, "No. She has lots of people and splices and pets. If love is good, then she has enough already." 

"Truer words have never been spoken, little lycantant."

* * *

Merak's story gets him through splice selections, cullings and once (quite memorably) a fight to the death with a former soldier. 

He's bloody, ripped to ribbons in some places or cut deeply in others but he holds onto the story. Caine carefully assesses his opponent and rips him open from throat to thorax, his innards falling outward. It is a hard fight and one his owner did not expect him to win. 

He shakes off the slick fluids erupting from the mantis splice and sits in the mostly clean center of hard-packed sand. 

"A runt. An _**albino**_ _runt_ kills my best?!" comes the frightful roar of the other owner. "I want his head! I want you run out of—" The flash of a neonano crystal knife and Caine is launching himself at the Noble, fangs bared as they drip ichor. He places the hand with the knife at his mistress's feet, turning again to face the now screaming foe. 

He knows what happens to unruly splices. Merak is proof of the slightest of mercy, her wing broken and shredded something awful. Caine is going to die for defending his mistress _and attacking an Entitled_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	2. Mercy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback and con crit is very welcome as this is my first JA fic! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

He does _not_ die. 

Caine sits in a high-ceiling'd Court, bound and muzzled, as his mistress extols his virtues. 

When the Noble floats in on a crystal transport, he shifts so that he's inbetween her and the Noble. He keeps a wary eye on the flowing robes and the quiet Rodentis-splice that is the Noble's Guard. 

The judge looks at his stance, where he's placing himself and the near expressionless face shifts minutely. 

"The lycantant-splice was fulfilling the duty for which he was made. He left the Noble alive when he could have killed them. Holo-vids support his near regulation disarmament. It is on this evidence that the lycantant-splice known as Caine is released into the custody of his mistress." 

She coos and removes both the muzzle and the harsh metal bindings immediately.

* * *

His mistress is clever, certainly, and uses her time in the Entitled spotlight to sell as many 'loyal' splices as she can in the limited timeframe. 

Caine is not among them. 

No, instead he and Merak are... lent out to Seraphi Abraxas. Caine goes quietly alongside his friend, their height difference only highlighted further by the fact that Merak is Sargorn. 

"So this is the albino runt Geidi littered," Her Majesty Seraphi Abrasax tilts his head from side-to-side. 

Caine keeps his eyes downcast and murmurs in reply, "Yes, Your Majesty." 

"Ha, proper manners included. Merak! A delight to see you again after three centuries. Ah, my household was rough with your removal. Your opinion, Merak, of the pup?" Her Majesty directly addresses Merak and she rumbles soothingly to Caine, who is still in the grip of the Matriarch of House of Abrasax. 

"He is wise beyond his single century, Your Majesty, and always concerned about the needs of all under his care." Merak answers with a demure bending of her great knees. 

"Under his care?" Caine is released and he holds himself carefully. 

"The lycantant do not always have the best temperament for chewing pups, Your Highness. Caine is one of the few our mistress trusts with the newer splices." comes the informative response. 

"A minder of pups. Loyal to a fault. It seems that even though Geidi claims him a mistake, he is the best of the litter." The musing tone turns quiet, almost reflective. "Merak, darling, outfit him with my colors and see to whatever small comforts he needs. I want you to report to my rooms at exactly 6am. I'm training **_my_** pups to take over the business, you see, and so I need a minder that is also protective." 

"Yes, Your Majesty." Merak bends again, her great frame dwarfing the Entitled but only ever in deference. 

"I am naming you Caine Wise. I shall hold you to your honor if you shall also hold mine." The Matriarch states firmly. 

"Thank you, Your Majesty." 

Her Majesty strides away with the words ringing in his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment, complain, ect.


	3. To Protect and Serve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* Hi tiny pile of readers! 
> 
> I hope you continue to enjoy the fic~

* * *

The Abrasax pups, for they are barely breaching their first century and still require their Mother's touch, are spoiled. They command imperiously. They expect their every demand to be met by their caretaker and Balem is the _worst_. 

"Fetch, lycantant." Caine feels his immense patience creak under the strain of following orders. It's not that he'll refuse a command; it's the **tone** that causes him to grind his fangs. 

"Yes, Your Majesty." He does as he is told, bringing the knives back to Titus and kneeling between the three in a ready stance. 

Kalique tugs on his dark sleeve and motions that he come to her. He ducks his head and sits near her, not expecting the soft fingers to explore his hair. "I though it would be coarse," she murmurs as she scratches down the high fade. Caine whines softly at the attention, liking the softer behavior of the middle sibling. "Mother says that you're to protect us."

"That is what Her Majesty wants me to do, Your Highness." Caine replies as Kalique's fingertips brush his ears. They flick back briefly, more flexible than a human ear. 

"She also says he's tasted Entitled ichor." Balem imperiously adds as he uses Caine as a footstool. "Have you?" 

"Yes, Your Majesty." 

"What's it taste like?" Titus asks as he burrows against Caine's side. 

The memory of rich, thick silver and cold rust sliding over his tongue almost makes him growl. Almost. "... Like silver, Your Majesty, and rust cold enough to break your teeth." 

"Rust?" Kalique's nails dig into his scalp for only a moment and he knows that she is equally as capable of cruelty as her litter mates. 

"What happens when iron or steel degrades, Your Highness." 

"Star-tide meal is ready, Your Majesties." Merak gently says and all three abandon Caine to eat. He makes to follow and Merak places a claw on his chest. "You, my friend, need a break. The Capreolinae will handle the rascals." 

"Thank you, Merak." Caine's ears perk forward as she leads him to what looks like the household kitchen. 

"No thanks necessary. I dealt with them through their half-century," she counters as she sits at the communal table and dishes out a hearty soup and thick slices of potato bread for them both. Caine eats as politely as he can, cocking his head to the side when the Canid splice fills his bowl again. 

"At some point, everyone in the household has met with the Abrasax siblings." The Canid is blind, the scarring consistent with a bad batch of RegenX that looks, for lack of a less horrifying word, _planned_. "You are liked. Rare enough but they will turn on you between the span of one breath and the next." 

"I'm aware I'm a... plaything. They are still pups, despite being mostly grown." Caine says delicately as his left ear flicks toward the Abrasax siblings. "Merak, hold my bowl?" 

"Of course." She grips the bowls as Caine lifts the simple wooden table and launches it at the assailant. 

Kalique screams, Balem stands stock still and Titus—Titus is **_too close_**. 

The chitter of a mantis splice has him skidding in front of the Abrasax pups with his gloves shredded. The whine of pulse-guns backing him up makes him lunge for the splice, claws slicing into the throat and coming out with gunk that he flicks away. 

Caine ushers the siblings to cover with Merak, nosing each of them in turn for the cold scent of ichor and RegenX. 

"They're safe." He reports gruffly to the Abrasax Head Guard, keeping the pups from peering over his shoulder with a low growl. "Area is not secure." 

"Agreed," The larger Sargorn echoes as he searches the port for more enemies. Caine settles in for a long watch, giving the siblings the cleaner of his clawed hands to fiddle with as he warily watches the stars. 

It's Balem who ends up sleeping against his back, face softer in rest than Caine has seen it in the hours spent with the pups.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	4. Wrath of House Abrasax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this itch to watch JA again and pause on Kalique's expression. Something tells me it's there that most of the story can be told. 
> 
> Err, enjoy?

* * *

Her Majesty Seraphi Abrasax does not waste her time. 

The splice is tracked back to the Entitled Noble who almost attacked Caine's mistress. The Noble is near naked and placed at Seraphi's bare feet like an offering from her Sargorn Guard. 

"You are either very stupid or very smart, Noble, neither of which will save you now. Do you care to explain to me why you thought attacking my children was an idea that merited thought?" Her Majesty's tone is cold and her dark eyes pin the Noble in place as though he was a stain on the heel of her foot. Caine is at her side, being treated like her most precious splice as she pets him with long strokes. 

"Your Majesty, I would—" 

"This splice of mine... He wouldn't happen to have been your target while he was _guarding my children_?" Seraphi is no fool, striking at the heart of the matter in seconds. 

"No, I—" 

"Lie to me again and I will have you on the next planet I harvest." She says lightly, almost saccharine sweet with her strokes still soft against Caine's fade. 

" _Yes!_ Yes, I went after that thrice-cursed son of a whore! He shamed me in front of the Skyjacker recruiter who was looking to buy my splices and instead ended up interested in that _**repulsive piece of meat you're touching**_." The rage in the Noble's voice catches in his throat as Seraphi begins to laugh. 

"Well now, that is a shame. Caine is a lovely splice." She says and tilts Caine's head back to stroke along his throat. "So lovely that I leave your fate in his hands." 

"You can't—" 

"As a higher Entitled, Noble, I have every right to defer your punishment to whomever I chose." The careless manner belies the frozen nitrogen in her gaze. If Caine does not chose a punishment to her liking, Seraphi will have the Noble torn limb-from-limb or give him to her pups as a lesson for all other Nobles close enough to her range. 

Absolutely _no one_ escapes the wrath of Seraphi Abrasax intact. 

"If I may, Your Majesty?" Caine glances shyly at his new mistress to ask. It's clear now that he isn't going back to mistress Geidi. 

"Of course." 

He rumbles softly as he thinks, enjoying the way Her Majesty pets. "To the pain, then, Your Highness." 

"Explain," Seraphi's hold tightens briefly. 

"The Sargorn cut off his feet at the ankles, his hands at the wrist. This is followed by taking first his left eye and then the right. His nose and finally..." 

"Ah. What do we leave?" The hot rush of Entitled satisfaction has Caine inhaling softly. 

"Only his ears, Your Highness, so that he may hear every cry of dismay that comes of seeing him." Caine pauses and grins savagely. " _No_ RegenX either so that he knows that pain for the rest of his miserable life, Your Majesty." 

"A well-thought out punishment. Merak was correct in stating your wisdom goes beyond your years." She purrs out as she returns her attention to the sniveling Noble. "So you have been judged, Noble, and found wanting." 

"Please, please, I'll do anything but that!" 

"Take your punishment and live or die under the hands of my... rather inventive children." She counters with wildfire burning in her eyes. 

Caine thinks about the saying, 'Abrasax are like deep-space hælious; once they have you in their grip, very little will make them release you.' 

He wonders if he's already suffered the same fate.

* * *

Caine yawns and buries his nose back into the warm, sweet-smelling fabric that feels like—Oh. He whines in distress at the sight of a sleeping Seraphi, her long limbs sprawling out on the glimmer-thread sheets. His throat clicks loudly as he swallows his spit. 

Merak lifts her great head up and chuckles softly. 

"I see you remember nothing of the night." 

"What did I do?" he hisses as he shuffles carefully over to the end of the bed next to the familar Sargorn. 

"Seraphi has pleasure splices. We are comfort and company." Merak murmurs as Seraphi's fingers curl into the lush glimmer-threads, frowning when she doesn't make contact with what she wants. Caine presses into the seeking touch and Her Majesty smiles as she pulls him into her arms. 

"There you are," she says with a rasp, no dulcet tones this early. "Is it your first time as a comfort?" 

"Yes, Majesty." Caine admits quietly. 

"Then you are a natural at it," comes the compliment before Seraphi gently wraps her hand around the back of his neck. "I'll have to have you rebranded." 

"Of course, Your Majesty." He replies as she traces over Geidi's templates. 

"The Noble... He mentioned something about a Skyjacker recruiter?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	5. Skyjacker Training Pt. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves* Hi! I've been busy but I have more of this and I figured you all would appreciate it! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

He does not _die_ as he expects to, in the Skyjacker training that takes on even the fiercest of bred splices and spits them back out again, chewed bone and split gristle. 

Commander Apini demands the best, always, and Caine decides one evening when he's left to sit at the edge of a cliff away from the others that he will surpass every single one of his fellow recruits. 

He wants his mistress to be proud of the branding she'd done herself. 

"Hey, runt!" Caine's left ear flicks back and then forward again. "Hey, Wise!" 

"Yes?" 

"Think you're better than us with that Entitled on your throat?" 

"No. I know I am." Caine pauses and says quietly, "If you disrespect my mistress or the House of Abrasax again, I will have to remove your head from your shoulders Tigris." 

"A... Abrasax?!" The panthera-splice's stripes ripple with good, solid musculature. Caine spots three different places where he could behead the bigger splice in seconds. 

"Her Majesty Seraphi Abrasax will appreciate your incredulity when I graduate." Caine replies before resuming his internal contemplations by staring at the stars above this tersie planet.

* * *

Commander Apini approaches Caine while Caine's working with his grav-boots after hours, trying to stay upright by flexing his core muscles. 

"Making any progress, Recruit Wise?" Commander Apini asks as he leans against the large doorway. 

"Yessir. Up is hard, down is easy." Caine replies respectfully. 

"The fundamental part of grav-boots is to understand that. You score well on all areas and that is much sought-after in Legion troops." 

"Thank you, but I am disappointed, sir." Caine grunts as he manages to stand upright on the grav-boots for the first time in nearly an hour. He rocks back on his heels and uses his weight to launch himself forward and crashes into the padded wall. 

This will take time, Caine thinks as he wheezes in air.

"We started grav-boots yesterday, Recruit. I would not expect you nor any Recruit to stand upright for several days. Yet here you are, in your assigned downtime, practicing and standing." Commander Apini's glittery wings flick up and shake a little as he walks over to the low training wall and sits. 

"I've been—" Caine says, breath hitching as he feels the soreness all over. "I've been practicing, sir." 

"For how long?" 

"An hour, sir, after downtime was announced." He rolls over onto his hands and knees and manages to sit up. The grav-boots power down as Caine fiddles with the holographic interface. "Was there anything you needed, Commander?" Caine ducks his head before he looks the Commander in the eye. 

Commander Apini's normally harsh expression softens briefly enough that Caine smiles. 

"Come, Recruit Wise. Downtime is over and all of you will face your hardest challenge yet." 

"Challenge, sir?" 

"You get to watch the Legion larva, pups and kits without hurting them or making them cry." Commander Apini's eyes glow with amusement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	6. Skyjacker Training Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten, I promise, just got sucked into RL. Man, horses are hard work but I love them all. 
> 
> You all can actually thank K8illier for this chapter! They bookmarked and I got inspired again. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Caine is in his element, almost laughing as the panthera, Rodentis, the one other lycantant and a Sargorn try to corral the smaller pups and kits. None of them will touch the apis larva. Commander Apini watches it all from above them, roaring with laughter as the little ones run them all ragged. 

Caine starts by gathering all of the rather sleepy apis larva and making them tiny nests to curl up in, not separating them if they don't want to let go of a fellow larva. One looks enough like Commander Apini that Caine suspects this to be the Commander's kindergarten for their offspring; rare as they are, considering splices have to _ask_ their makers for it years in advance. 

He nips at the pups and settles the kits into a large blanket nest so that they can pile and squirm the way babies do when they're younger. And then he pulls on the holographic interface for stories that are soothing. The blue flares up and spreads wide enough for all the splice babies to see as Caine narrates the story as he has for all of mistress Geidi's pups and cubs. 

When they're all asleep, Commander Apini lands silently amongst them, directing the recruits outside of the area. 

"You're wondering, in those heads of yours, why did you babysit the Commander's offspring? Skyjackers are the best of the best and this **includes** child-care. A Skyjacker unit can be called to help settle an Entitled's pup, especially if the Entitled cannot care for it currently. Recruit Wise, you seemed to have an advantage." Commander Apini pins him with a golden gaze that Caine thinks wouldn't look out of place on Merak. 

"I did, sir. Not all splices, as I have been told sir, have the temperament for watching cubs or pups or larva because they squirm and nip and make a general nuisance of themselves. It takes patience, discipline and above all, unrivaled control of your temper, sir. They have simple needs. They eat, they eliminate, they sleep and occasionally demand attention, sir." Caine replies when prompted. "Excuse me, sir." 

He leaps over the wall and scoops up Commander Apini's larva. She's squirming in a way that suggests she's pooped and none of the real caretakers are back yet. Caine changes her, rumbles to soothe the little one and settles her back down before resuming formation.

* * *

The obstacle course with the grav-boots tests all of the recruits equally. 

Caine yelps as he slams into a wall, wheezing for breath as he gets up again on his boots. The grav field on the left one is sputtering something awful so he slices the edge of his jacket to wrap it around and tighten it so that it glows again. The rest of the recruits around him aren't doing much better. 

He kicks off again, going up until he can see the rest of the course. Brown eyes flick from one obstacle to the next, noting that each has an exit that takes advantage of the grav-boots' abilities. Caine dives back down, corkscrewing through the moving walls obstacle and pulling up short of the next one, analyzing what he saw versus what's in front of him. He cocks his head to the side and grins. 

Caine skids under the electrified barrier and spins hard to the left and right to avoid the floating electric panels between him and the next in the course. 

He doesn't see the last panel until it's too late to avoid. He screams as it makes contact, pulling away from it and shaking as he weaves through the rest with difficulty. The Rodentis-splice that's keeping pace with him shakes her head and gestures to the mess behind them. All the bigger splices and the Sargorn are trying to get over it but don't realize that the only way is to get through the agony-inducing panels. 

She helps him up and gently winds a bandage around his heavy burn. 

"What's next?" 

"Platforms." He manages as they stagger towards the finish line. 

Caine barely remembers passing the course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


End file.
